We visited Kinderdijk as we reached the Netherlands on the 8th day. This community is a unique and historic World Heritage site. We were given a presentation on the boat about the network of windmills and flood management systems. It was fully explained how they operate, who operates them, why they are needed and how a method developed hundreds of years ago is still in place and works today. They are used to pump water and remove it into reservoirs on two levels, where it is transported to sea.
Gorgeous!
The families that operate these windmills are known as "millers." Typically, they are passed down from generation to generation.
If your family isn't in this business, you can't buy into it.
This was a view I knew I would probably never see up close again. So beautiful.
Although upkept and maintained, the date of 1738 is the actual date this
windmill was built.
I can't believe I was there.
Back on the boat, they also touched on all things Dutch. There was a sampling of delicious Dutch cheeses, and we were exposed to the local jenever. I should have known to avoid it when it was presented to us in a glass the size of my thumb. There were instructions about how to drink it, and how you were to chase it with a local beer. I took a sip -- again, I should have known better. Yikes. Not my thing. I can accurately say that was the nastiest stuff I have ever tried. Mike had gone back to the room for the camera, so when he returned, I had poured mine into his glass. He drank the whole thing and had the same reaction.
Even I know you should never turn your back on your glass.
